New regulations governing how — or if — changes can be made to land’s status within British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) are now in force, but local governments get more prep time for their expanded role. The province on Thursday announced amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) Act — having received royal assent […] Read more
Tighter regulations take effect for B.C. farmland reserve
Local governments' expanded role to take effect this fall
Canopy Growth to shut two B.C. greenhouses, cut 500 jobs
Niagara greenhouse plans also shelved
Reuters — Pot producer Canopy Growth Corp. said on Wednesday it plans to close two of its greenhouses in Aldergrove and Delta, B.C., cutting about 500 positions. The company also said it no longer plans to open a third greenhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Canopy had said last month it aims to focus on reducing costs, […] Read more
Fraser: In ag marketing, emotions need to start trumping facts
Emotional transparency 'actually goes a long way'
Go to an agricultural event and someone will inevitably point out how bad farmers are at getting their message to consumers. As annoying as it is, those comments underscore an increasingly important theme in Canadian agriculture: communication. It used to be enough to grow and market your crops, but that has changed dramatically over the […] Read more
EU-Canada trade deal clears hurdle in Dutch parliament
Amsterdam | Reuters — The European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada cleared a political hurdle on Tuesday, when a slim majority of lawmakers in the Dutch lower house voted to ratify the contested deal. Votes by members of the country’s governing coalition were enough to approve the deal, which was rejected by opposition parties […] Read more
Canopy Growth may face challenges offloading assets, CEO says
Reuters — Canada’s biggest cannabis producer, Canopy Growth Corp., could face challenges offloading assets as it seeks to winnow its facilities down to focus on its most lucrative markets and products, its CEO told Reuters. The company, which reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter loss on Friday, is conducting a “thorough strategic review” of its production facilities […] Read more
More pain in store for Canadian marijuana companies
Aurora Cannabis, Tilray cut jobs
Toronto | Reuters — Investors are bracing for more job cuts and writedowns at Canadian cannabis producers before the industry stabilizes and becomes profitable, after two of the biggest weed companies, Aurora Cannabis and Tilray announced cost reductions this week. Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018 but profits have proven elusive for most marijuana […] Read more
B.C. to punch up AgriStability
Reference margin limit eliminated for 2019, 2020
British Columbia plans to make another $9 million available to farmers through “enhancements” to AgriStability for the 2019 and 2020 program years. The province on Thursday announced it will increase the compensation rate available through the federal/provincial income stabilization program from 70 per cent to 80 per cent when margins fall below the 30 per […] Read more
Canada, EU, China, others agree on temporary fix to WTO crisis
Brussels/Davos | Reuters — Canada, the European Union, China and 14 other World Trade Organization members agreed on Friday to create a temporary mechanism to settle trade disputes after U.S. action rendered the WTO incapable last month of acting as the umpire of global trade. The Canadian government and the European Commission said separately that […] Read more
Bargain hunters fire up rally in cannabis stocks
New York | Reuters — Some cannabis stocks are seeing their prices surge as investors hunt for winners in the ashes of an industry shakeout that hammered share prices last year. Shares of Tilray Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. have climbed more than 20 per cent since the start of the year, while Cronos Group […] Read more
2019 was a difficult year — but also one of great progress
Lots of things didn’t go right in 2019, but there are many reasons why Alberta is a great place to farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes It could have been so much better. If China hadn’t got mad at us. If there hadn’t been a trade war. If PED hadn’t arrived. If the weather had been a bit more co-operative. But the past year was also a reminder that efforts to make things better do pay off. Look no further than […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
